2 comments:

I always thought that the whole way airfares were charged were wrong; I weigh about fifteen stone and my wife about nine.....When we traveled by plane, we each had our baggage allowance and the airline would say that the allowance was based on the cost of fuel and the amout that would be used to carry the extra baggage weight.......It struck me that, if I got on the plane with my twenty kilos of baggage, my total weight (me plus bags) would be 120kgs but, if a little woman of say forty five kilos got on with twenty one kilos of luggage, she would have to pay more than me even though, her total weight would be a fraction of mine. (66kgs)

I agree this example is stupid, nevertheless weight is a crucial part of flying, whether in a 2 seat Cessna or an Airbus 380. An aircraft captain has a legal duty to carry out performance calculations for every flight, and the total weight is needed for this. More weight requires more runway, and longer times to cruising altitude, it also requires more fuel to compensate, and so on. Given the increasing cost of fuel, airlines are doing everything possible to keep this aspect under control.

So they have a difficult choice - either 1) weigh every single passenger and their luggage, or 2) work on an average passenger weight, and just check the baggage. The first case would result in howls of protest from those of more "ample" proportions. It could also lead to flights having to leave passengers behind if there were a lot of such people people pre-booked. And, of course, it would lead to further delays in boarding.

Given the choice between 1) struggling to clear the perimeter fence on take off, or spending 10+ hours unable to move in my seat, and 2) a 37stone lard-arse getting "uppity", I'll take the latter...

Oh, and if you don't believe me, take a look at this (now famous) YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWtdtuspnoM

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